BANG—!
The white wall shattered, and a dark shadow rolled inward.
Ariel narrowed his eyes.
Yet every identifying feature of the intruder was twisted into a vague black shadow in his eyes, with the sole exception of a pair of icy-blue eyes.
“It’s normal that you can’t see her clearly,” Moge whispered.
“The Dreamstone veils your true identities from one another.
To her, you’re just a blurry shadow as well…”
“What the fuck are you two doing in my dream?!” A female voice cut the cat off.
Ariel noted that her voice was also distorted to a certain extent by the dream, though that did not mask the sheer irritability in her tone.
Clearly, she was not an easy person to deal with.
He glanced down at the Burmese cat crouching by his feet.
“This is the ‘dream team’ carefully handpicked by the Dreaming?
An outstanding youth representative who excels in mind, body, character, and hard work?”
Moge’s ears drooped to the sides as it tentatively took two steps forward.
“Hello, my friend.
Welcome to the Dreaming.
I am Mo—”
“Shut up.”
Ariel sighed.
He had only just killed the silver lion that had plagued him for eight long years, only just been given a crash course by a Burmese cat on what the Dreaming was and how the universe was about to be swallowed by nightmares, and now here came a colleague who opened her mouth only to swear…
Stepping around Moge, who had shrunk into a dark shadow on the floor, Ariel said calmly, “Sister, calm down and listen to me—”
Before he could finish, two pinpricks of icy-blue light abruptly magnified in his vision.
Someone was driving a fist straight for his face!
Her speed was nearly comparable to Clark’s.
BANG!
The forward momentum of the dark shadow ground to a sudden halt.
The woman seemed entirely unprepared for someone to actually catch her fist.
She stared blankly up, only to see the eyes of the person in front of her igniting into brilliant reddish-gold.
“Kneel.”
With a deadpan expression, Ariel flipped his hand.
The dark shadow was slammed violently into the white floor.
The woman’s shoulders trembled violently as every muscle fought desperately to resist, but her body simply could not stand back up.
It was as if gravity itself had chosen to side with Ariel in that exact moment!
“Fuck you!
*****”
An unhinged torrent of curses erupted from the shadow, a string of profanities echoing beneath the vaulting dome.
“Explain,” Ariel opted to ignore her, glancing over at Moge.
“While she’s still listening.”
Trembling, Moge poked half its head out from behind Ariel’s pant leg.
At the cost of nearly being flattened into a cat pancake by a thrashing hand, Moge spilled everything in one breath—the concepts of the Dreaming, the materialization of nightmares, and prophetic dreams…
Though the effect was less than stellar…
The woman continued to launch physical attacks on the cat’s entire body, until Moge gasped out:
—You can get anything here.
The shadow pinned beneath Ariel’s hand finally stopped struggling.
It seemed this single piece of information was crucial enough that she was willing to temporarily set aside the humiliation of being forced to kneel.
Sensing that the force in his palm was no longer resisting, Ariel released his grip.
The woman stood up from the floor, her icy-blue eyes glaring fixedly at Ariel.
“A metahuman…
What’s your connection to Vought?” she demanded suddenly.
Vought?
Ariel narrowed his eyes slightly, though he quickly relaxed.
“Is that some new alien species?” He blinked.
“Then who are you?”
“I’m an alien,” Ariel said in all seriousness.
“…What planet are you from?”
“Mars.”
The shadow laughed in sheer frustration, but before she could say more—
“Someone else is coming, you two.” Moge’s ears suddenly perked up.
“Oh, my goodness, is today a triple blessing?”
The woman turned guardedly, scanning the white walls around the hall, clearly waiting for a third figure to crash through a wall just as she had.
Yet the white walls remained completely intact.
“Hello.”
A voice sounded from behind them.
Ariel turned in surprise.
A vague outline was leaning against one of the white pillars.
“Uh…
when did you get here?” Moge was equally taken aback.
This didn’t make sense…
How could anyone’s entry be so plain and unpretentious?
“I’ve been here all along,” a soft voice, sounding somewhere between a young man and a boy, said quietly.
“Since this gentleman forced this lady to kneel.”
“Do you have a death wish?!” The woman erupted in fury.
Yet whether out of wariness toward Ariel or something else, she ultimately abandoned the idea of rushing over to beat up the newcomer.
Moge looked at the figure leaning against the pillar, then turned back to look at the pristine white walls around the hall.
If Nightwalk had already entered the hall just now…
Then who was the entrant it was sensing right now?
Silence fell over the group for a moment.
The red moon shifted across the sky, casting obscure light over the three figures.
Yet no fourth person appeared.
“…Alright.” Moge scratched the back of its head with its tail, attempting to steer the atmosphere away from the weirdness.
“Since everyone is here…
well…
temporarily here?”
“There’s something we need to settle.
I suggest you use codenames in the dream and refrain from revealing your true identities to one another—it’s a way to protect yourselves.”
“Traveler,” Ariel spoke first.
“Traveler?
You think of yourself as a passerby?” The woman sneered.
“Are you planning on taking up permanent residence here?” Ariel blurted out. New chapters come out on g.com first.
The speed of his retort was strangely fast…
Ariel realized he could not control the urge to tease this person at all.
But that shouldn’t be—he only ever felt that way around Joanna.
Surely this person couldn’t be Joanna, could she?
He raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing the irritable dark shadow.
It was impossible for her to be Joanna…
After all, Joanna would never fail to recognize him, even in a dream.
Ariel was supremely confident in that fact.
“What about you?” he asked suddenly.
The woman’s icy-blue pupils shot him a glare, but she said nothing.
“Don’t want to pick one yourself?” Ariel arched an eyebrow.
“Then I’ll pick one for you.”
“I am—”
“Megaphone,” Ariel said without batting an eye.
The shadow’s knuckles cracked loudly.
Yet perhaps because the sensation of being slammed into the floor just moments ago was still fresh in her mind—
“Silence,” she spat through gritted teeth.
“Call me Silence.”
“Very well.” Ariel nearly burst out laughing, though he managed to keep a straight face and nod.
“Silence.
Classy.”
The woman clearly caught something in his tone, her icy-blue eyes narrowing dangerously, though she ultimately refrained from making a move.
“As for me, I’ll go by Nightwalk,” the figure by the pillar said calmly.
“Great, great!
Traveler, Silence, Nightwalk.
Wonderful, we can finally talk like civilized people…” Moge flicked its tail, visibly relieved.
“Mr.
Moge,” Nightwalk spoke up suddenly.
“You said earlier that anything can be done here.”
“Uh…
theoretically speaking…”
“Can it bring back someone who has died?”
The hall fell dead silent.
Ariel narrowed his eyes at the individual calling himself Nightwalk.
The boy’s grey-blue eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the black cat at his feet.
“We can replicate the person you want to resurrect from a certain universe,” Moge’s expression turned uncharacteristically solemn.
“Bestowing them with corresponding flesh, blood, visage, and memories.”
“A clone?”
“Yes.”
“Because the souls of the deceased are taken away by Death, all the Dreaming can provide is replication and cloning.”
Nightwalk leaned back against the pillar, sinking back into silence.
“You…
Nightwalk?
What was the guardian in your dream?” Ariel asked out of nowhere.
“Mine was a lion.”
“A bat,” Nightwalk answered truthfully.
The corner of Ariel’s mouth tugged upward slightly.
A bat…
“Mine was a tiger,” Silence snorted disdainfully.
“Who asked you?” Ariel said with clear disgust.
“Do you want to die?!”
The woman unleashed a colorful stream of profanities.
“Alright, alright, ladies and gentlemen!
This is the grand first gathering of our brave heroes!
Now that three candidates have assembled in the Endless White Hall of the Dreaming, I have a proposal.”
Moge tried its best to make its round little face look dignified.
“We need to elect a Council President.
One person, one vote—simple democracy.
How about it?”
“What authority does the Council President hold?” Ariel raised an eyebrow.
“Well…
I’m not entirely sure either.”
“You don’t know either?”
“But anyway, the Dreaming told me we need to choose one!
The Dreaming is never wrong!” Moge declared righteously.
“And there are definitely benefits!
Traveler, you have to trust me!
Look into my sincere eyes!”
Turning his gaze away from the foolish cat, Ariel looked at the other two.
Silence had her arms crossed over her chest, obviously unwilling to vote for him.
Nightwalk remained leaning by the pillar, looking completely indifferent.
However…
“Let’s confer first, shall we?” Ariel suggested.
“Of course.”
Moge covered its eyes with its tail, seemingly trying to emphasize that it was an impartial cat.
Ariel was speechless, but he stepped over toward Nightwalk.
Nightwalk didn’t back away, candidly facing the youth who bent down slightly to whisper near his ear…
“…?!”
Silence’s eyes narrowed slightly.
She actually saw Nightwalk react as if he had heard something utterly staggering, his grey-blue pupils dilating instantly.
“Who are you?!
How do you know that?!” Nightwalk demanded in a low voice.
“Because I’m an alien,” Ariel said solemnly.
“You…”
Nightwalk’s face was a mix of shock and uncertainty.
Just moments ago…
Bruce Wayne. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
The string of words had been so quiet that even Silence couldn’t hear them, so faint that even Moge’s perked ears could only catch the vibration of air currents.
Yet he had heard it.
The person had said…
Your house is in Gotham, your butler is Alfred, and your mother’s name is Martha.
“…Let’s vote,” Ariel announced loudly.
“Alright!”
Moge joyfully initiated the voting process.
Though the procedure was horrifyingly crude…
It simply pulled three strands of fur from its own body and had each person hand their fur to the candidate they wished to vote for.
Silence kept the cat fur in her own hand, as expected.
As for Nightwalk…
Filled with shock and uncertainty, Nightwalk cast his vote for this seemingly omniscient demon.
Though Silence was utterly unwilling, recalling the irresistible pressure from earlier, she bit her lip and abstained.
Thus, Ariel was unanimously elected as the Council President of the white house.
“Traveler, two votes!” Moge announced jubilantly.
“Congratulations on becoming the first Council President of the Dreaming Candidate Council!”
“……Thanks, Nightwalk.” Ariel shot a glance toward the shadow beside him.
Nightwalk: “…”
“Time is almost up.”
Moge raised its head to look at the sky.
The red moon hung inverted.
The white mist grew thin and distant.
“Once the red moon sets, you will return to the waking world…
The next gathering will be in seven days.
Remember, everyone, don’t forget to sleep!”
“Hold on, I’m the Council President.
Skiping work shouldn’t—”
Ariel caught himself mid-sentence.
Something was wrong!
The figures of Silence and Nightwalk were already dissolving into motes of light as the red moon sank, and even Moge had transformed into a cloud of smoke.
Yet he remained standing in place.
He had not woken up with the setting of the red moon.
HUM—!
Above the dome of the hall, the eternally flowing inverted hourglass ground to a sudden halt!
Golden grains of sand floated motionless in the vacuum, no longer traveling upward in reverse.
A prophetic dream?!
Are Council President perks delivered this fast?
But Ariel had no time to ponder further.
He was standing in the center of a burning city.
Countless pieces of paper fluttered down from the sky.
Ariel casually caught one.
Daily Planet — 2012
BOOM—!
A massive golden globe rolled down from above.
Ariel recognized it; it was the crown atop the Daily Planet building in Metropolis, a sight that appeared at the opening of every daily television news broadcast.
So this was…
Metropolis, five years into the future?
Which villain was…
SHWAAA—!
An orange-red beam swept across the landscape.
Skyscraper after skyscraper pitched forward, their glass curtain walls shattering into a torrential storm as they collapsed.
“I AM DARKSEID!”
A booming, thunderous voice reverberated from all directions.
Ariel stood blankly beside a river of fire, staring across the bank at the grey god of evil whose eyes blazed with the Omega Symbol.
His stature was only two heads taller than an ordinary man…
Yet the space he occupied felt visually infinite, as if he were the origin point of this entire world’s coordinate system, and everything collapsing around him was merely a footnote to his existence!
Floating around him were several figures Ariel knew all too well from the comic books!
A demigod in a gold-and-red suit, a man wearing a green ring, a warrior goddess wielding the Lasso of Truth…
Yet in their eyes, there was only the grey hollow of utter despair!
And the only man who was not controlled…
Was Superman…
And of course it was Superman!
The same Clark Kent who would chuckle foolishly at picking up a giant pumpkin on the farm, whom Ariel constantly nagged to get lost!
His red cape was half-charred, his knees sunk in molten lava as he knelt before Darkseid, kneeling on the scorched earth distorted by extreme gravity!
His arms were propping up a collapsing continental plate!
“Superman!” The god of evil raised both hands.
“Submit to me!”
A black hole roared beneath Darkseid’s feet, and an unimaginable gravitational force descended upon Superman’s shoulders like falling stars.
Yet Clark’s eyes glared furiously, his bloodshot gaze snapping upward to stare at the pitch-black sky that would never see another dawn!
“ARIEL—!!!”
His pupils shrinking, Ariel instinctively stepped forward.
“I answer the call!”
Yet the divine dawn arrived one step ahead of him!
A rift tore open in the high heavens, and radiant golden light pierced through the shadows of the armada, pouring down!
It was as if a star were crashing down toward the earth!
Wherever it passed, any Parademons daring to draw near were vaporized by vision heat capable of igniting stars!
“Ariel Kent!” Darkseid bellowed.
The Omega Beams pierced through the scorched earth!
“Darkseid.”
His face was blurred, submerged in brilliant light, yet the judgment declared by the golden silhouette drowned out the heavy rumble of the black hole beneath Darkseid’s feet!
“The laws of nature shift for me, bend for me, and change for me!”
“The despair weighed down by your gravitational field, I shall crush into hope with absolute gravity!”
With one hand, he threw a punch that shattered the Omega Beams; with the other, he reached out to relieve the crushing burden from Superman’s shoulders!
Waves of light exploded from his hands, and the continent was lifted by a golden storm!
“New God of the Old Gods, New God of the New Gods!”
“This is the Eternal Pantheon, and I am King Hyperion!”
“Darkseid, kneel!”